Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)
by Mrs. Ferb Fletcher-inator
Summary: Arcee had had it with this anger that has built up inside of her from the memory of the loss of her partners. She takes it out on anything she can find in the training room. She needs to protect Jack so the same doesn't happen to him, but she may realize she needs hiim more than he needs her. One-Shot based on song Stronger by Kelly Clarkson


**I was bored, so I typed this up… I will be updating The Strong Bond next. Probably tomorrow, no promises though.**

**I don't own anything**

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Arcee sighed walking into the training room. She needed time to clear her mind. Memories were invading her mind. Memories of Tailgate, Cliff…

They were her best friends. Cliff was turning out to be more than that. Sure he started out as fill-in, but he ended up being so much more. But, fragging Starscream had to kill him.

She growled as she made her way over to the small punching bag in the corner of the room. She drew her fist back and slammed it back into the back causing it to fly backward.

She would make Starscream pay for that, he would be begging for death when she was through with him, just like she'll do to Arachnid, she thought. They'd regret their mistakes.

_**You know the bed feels warmer  
Sleeping here alone  
You know I dream in color  
And do the things I want**_

She remembered Arachnid mocking her, teasing her about killing Tailgate, like it was some kind of sick joke. Oh but, it wasn't, nope not even close.

Arcee threw another swing at the bag and cringed, she remembered being locked and tortured by Arachnid. She fought hard, gave no secrets, and showed no emotion—until the end. When Arachnid killed Tailgate she drew the line.

She was humiliated, attached to chains so she couldn't escape. Maybe she would have thought of a plain to leave if Tailgate had lived, but when his spark was extinguished, she didn't care what happened to her. She had to watch him killed in front of her very own optics. It was spark-breaking.

Of course, Arachnid thought she had gotten rid of Arcee then, destroyed her hope, spirit, but she was oh so wrong. It only provoked her more, especially when Cliffjumper came. She'd be sorry she every messed with her.

_**You think you got the best of me  
Think you've had the last laugh  
Bet you think that everything good is gone  
Think you left me broken down  
Think that I'd come running back  
Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong**_

Arcee smirked and punched the bag with her right fist, then left, then right and she kept doing this until she needed a breather. She stood back watching the bag slowly swing back and forth until it stopped completely.

Arcee laughed and jumped before round house kicking the bag so hard it almost falls. She stood back once again eyeing her handy work as she slowly jabbed her fists back and forth and a make believe punching bag in front of her, something Bumblebee would do.

She punched the bag again, not as hard because it was not out of anger, but more of a fun punch. Just to get her ready for when the anger did come out. She swatted her hands down to her sides and her blades appeared. She smoothly ran over to blank wall and started to slice the paint off. She cursed Arachnid's name, but stopped when she realized she had someone else to address.

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone  
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter  
Footsteps even lighter  
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone**_

She growled and stepped back from the wall looking at the paint chipped and the bare sheetrock was showing. Her anger was boiling again inside of her. Starscream didn't even give Cliff a chance she thought. They weakened him with the blast from the energon explosion.

What cowards, but should she honestly expect more from Starscream. The low-life Starscream, who killed Cliff without letting him put up a fight. Probably scared of was going to end something like this. She jumped forward and lunged onto an old, dead Vehicon that Bulkhead dragged in to practice his punching.

Well, it's her turn now. She punched the slag out of the old 'Con. She punched from every angle of his helm, the cheeks, the top, chin, she got it all. She stood up and kicked it aside when the head was pretty much beaten off. Bulkhead would just have to have Ratchet fix it—again.

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger  
Just me, myself and I  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone**_

She was bad luck, every partner she had died. So why should it be any different for Jack. She's kept him alive so far and she plans to continue. But, there was a little voice in her head saying that maybe he wasn't really her partner.

When Arcee heard herself actually thinking this she screamed and punched the flaking wall. Jack was her partner; they were partners no matter what. Jack called her his partner and she called him his so why was this voice suddenly doubting that.

Maybe because you don't want to let go of the others, she heard it again. Arcee slowly lifted her head up and growled. "Impossible." She muttered. She couldn't forget about Tailgate and Cliffjumper. She'd always remember them, Jack wouldn't change any of that. She still wanted to Arachnid and Starscream just as much as ever.

_**You heard that I was starting over with someone new  
They told you I was moving on, over you  
You didn't think that I'd come back  
I'd come back swinging  
You try to break me, but you see**_

She took out her blasters and shot at the ceiling, nothing in particular, she was just shooting. She shot at least a dozen times and stopped only when she felt flakes of the ceiling falling. Ratchet would be pretty ticked if she broke The Base, she thought.

She searched the room for something else. There had to be something to take all of her anger out on. Anything at all. He eye caught something, she didn't know what it was, only that she could use it as aim practice. She walked over and placed it on top of a table before walking away to take her aim.

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone  
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter  
Footsteps even lighter  
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone  
**_

She took in a deep breath before pointing her gun with one arm in the air and the other supporting it. She groaned when she missed the target. She wasn't sure why, it wasn't that hard, it was big and nothing was in between her and the object. This should be child's play.

She quickly fired again, twice, three times, but they were all misses. Except for the forth one that hit the rim and only made it spin, but it didn't crack or break. She groaned and closed her eyes for a moment, maybe she was just too wound up, maybe all she needed was to take a quick relaxation.

She tried to just sit for a moment, but she couldn't. Something inside her told her to try just shot it once more, but this time she was clear of thoughts. The only thing that was on her mind was what she thought right before she fired, this is for you Tailgate, Cliff and Jack. It's for us.

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger  
Just me, myself and I  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone**_

The bullet seemed to sail through the air in slow motion. It curved and spun until it smacked the glass this into pieces, scattering the pieces everywhere. She smiled in triumph. Mission complete. She sighed, maybe that was what she needed, just a way to release her anger. But, she couldn't do this every time she thought of Cliff and Tailgate.

She looked around, maybe she just had to think of the good memories. If Tailgate never passed, she'd never of met Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is what got her to open up to people again and to learn to live. With Cliff, she wouldn't have joined Optimus Prime here on Earth. She wouldn't have met him, Bulk, Bee, Ratchet, Jack…

Did this mean that maybe Jack would lead her to another partner when he passed. No she thought shaking her head furiously, Jack couldn't die. She wouldn't allow it. As long as she was Jack's guardian, nothing was going to happen to Jack.

Wait, but what was she thinking? Of course Jack would have to pass away some time, humans' life spans are shorter than Cybertronians by millions of centuries. He would pass before long. It would go by so fast compared her long lifetime. Before she knew it her partner would be gone.

_**Thanks to you I got a new thing started  
Thanks to you I'm not the broken-hearted  
Thanks to you I'm finally thinking about me  
You know in the end the day you left was just my beginning  
In the end...**_

She leaned against the wall and slowly let herself fall until she was sitting on the cold floor and she felt tears rolling down her cheek. She wiped the spilled energon from her eyes and hung her head in between her knees. It wasn't fair, she couldn't think like that. If she continued to think only about Jack dying much sooner than her than their time together would be worth scrap, ruined because of her.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried her best to keep her sobs quiet so no one heard her, but someone did. "Hey 'Cee, you okay?" Jack said walking slowly into the room. He made he to her and she slowly lifted her head looking away from him.

"Ratchet said you were in here and when we heard banging he told me to go see because he didn't want to know what you were breaking." He gave a dry laugh, tying to lighten the mood. But he gave up and sat down next to Arcee pulling his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He rested his chin on his knees as he surveyed the damage, "Thinking about Tailgate and Cliffjumper again?"

She slowly shifted her helm to her partner, "I was, but now I'm not…"

"Then who—" Jack said, but Arcee softly interrupted him.

"You, Jack."

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone  
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter  
Footsteps even lighter  
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone  
**_

"Me?" He asked pulling his head up.

"The others were accidents. Maybe I could've stopped, maybe not, but you," She lifted a digit to him, "You I can save. I wouldn't let anyone kill you. That's what partners are for." She closed her eyes and cringed. That made her a bad partner because she didn't keep the other two alive.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Jack, "But, then I thought I'd probably be a good partner for once and then you'd just end up dying anyway. Old age, sickness. You'd die way before me, Jack." She shook her helm slowly, "I can't lose another partner."

Jack stood up and walked over and placed his small hand into her larger hand, "I'm gonna die and yeah, there's nothing you can do about it and you'll probably have another million years to live, but that doesn't mean that I'm gone."

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger  
Just me, myself and I  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone**_

Arcee lifted her head to Jack and turned more towards him. He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm gonna die, so's Raf and Miko. But, you Bulk, and Bee have to keep living because we'll be with you everywhere." He said with a smile.

"How?" Arcee challenged.

Jack laughed, "Even Tailgate and Cliffjumper are always with you, when you feel abandoned, you're really not because they're both right there."

"Where, Jack?" Arcee was growing impatient.

He carefully climbed up her arm and sat upon her shoulder. He leaned down and tapped by her spark-chamber, "Right here, forever. We're with you always."

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger  
Just me, myself and I  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone**_

_**(When I'm alone)**_

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**When I listen to that that song, I just think of Arcee. A video that was made by hiccuplover55 made inspired me to make this video ** watch?v=oo_YreZe64I

**Check her/his other ones out too, they are awesome!**


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